Taking A Chance
by naomi-in-neverland
Summary: Ginny's sixth year, Draco's seventh. Ginny's determined to show her brother that she's not a little girl anymore, that she can take care of herself. At the same time, manages to associate herself with the 'enemy', but will she end up falling in love, and will Draco's usual cold, hard expression finally break because of a certain determined redhead? Will contain Final Battle. R&R!
1. Fighting with the Pug

**Disclaimer: -puts hands up- Ok, ok, I surrender! I do not own anything to do with Harry Potter! The great, the lovely, -drum roll- J.K Rowling doesss! I do, however, own the plot of this story.**

_**A/N: Wew, well look at me. Writing my first ever Drinny fanfic. This will be very hard. Well, overall, this story will pretty much be slight bickering, becoming best friends, Ginny's major brother troubles, connecting romantically, Quidditch aahhh of course, and, the *ahem* whole-heartedly loved drama at the end. I really do hope you enjoy!**_

**Taking A Chance- Chap 1. Fighting with the Pug**

Ginny Weasley flitted around The Burrow, her topsy-turvy house, getting ready for her sixth year at Hogwarts: School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

"Gin, hurry up! We'll be late!" came her obnoxious brother, Ron's, voice from downstairs.

Ginny huffed to herself. _Maybe if he hadn't taken so long in the damn shower._

"Oh, shut up, Ronald!"

"Ginevra Weasley, watch your mouth!"

"Sorry, Mum!" Ginny rolled her eyes.

Making sure she had everything with her, she took one last look at her run-down, yet cozy, room, grabbed her Firebolt (it was something she won in a Quidditch knowledge competition, and cherished it greatly) and barrelled down the stairs. Ginny may have been a porcelain-skinned beauty, with her big hazel eyes and long, auburn-coloured, bouncy tendrils of hair that shimmered in the rare sunlight of Britain, but that didn't mean to say she was a fragile little butterfly. She had six older brothers, and with that came a price.

Ginny entered the kitchen and was surprised to see Harry Potter, The-Boy-Who-Would-Bloody-Not-Die, there, and delighted to see Hermione Granger.

Harry gave Ginny a big smile, which Ginny returned exasperatedly. When would the boy get over her? Ever since the middle of last year, when he went a bit too far and tried to take advantage of her, Ginny went completely off Harry. He just wouldn't quit.

"Morning, Mione'! Ready for Hogwarts?" Ginny trilled, walking straight past Harry, much to his rejected dismay.

Hermione noticed and had to stifle a laugh. "Morning, Gin. Yes, of course! I reread Hogwarts: A History a couple of times, you know, just to be sure, and I've gone through all of my textbooks, memorised extra spells I thought might come in handy-"

"I'm sorry, Mione'," Ginny cut in. "But we should really be getting to King's Cross."

Hermione went red as Ginny grinned at her, and said, "Right, yes, of course."

It was only then did the three realise they were the only ones at the house. They grabbed their luggage and trudged outside, where the infamous Ford Anglia was parked, with the great Weasley clan waiting impatiently inside.

"Hurry up, you lot!"

After much bickering, heated arguments, squashed shins and red-faced Weasleys, they finally arrived at King's Cross.

"Thank God." Ginny muttered under her breath, as she extracted herself from her family. Even the modifying charms that Mr Weasley had sneakily put on the car behind Mrs Weasley's back didn't do a whole lot.

It was 10:55 on the station's clock, so Ginny quickly said goodbye to her parents, made sure Harry, Ron and Hermione were following, and started to act nonchalant as she leaned into the barrier from King's Cross to platform 9 ¾.

Ginny and her luggage came through properly, and she hurried onto the Hogwarts Express, which was already billowing smoke.

The Trio followed, and after getting on the train went into a compartment of their own, leaving Ginny outside in the corridor. _Great, just like always,_ Ginny thought grumpily, and lugged her things to the last compartment at the end of the train.

After getting her trunk on the shelf, that wobbled slightly dangerously, Ginny noted nervously but thought nothing of it, she sat down and proceeded to read her book.

Finally, the train started moving, and at that point, Ginny thought she heard a faint, "Drakie _poooo_!"

She must have heard correctly, because a little while later a distressed looking Slytherin barrelled into Ginny's compartment, effectively startling her.

Draco closed his eyes tiredly and leaned against the compartment door.

"Don't lead her in here! Lord knows I can't deal with someone like her right now!" Ginny cried from her seat, and only then did Draco realise who's compartment he ran into. It didn't matter. There was no way he would leave and endure more of that simpering, pug-faced woman.

Draco locked the door with a charm of his own, and looked at the Weasley who had spoken.

He was confusedly surprised to note that the youngest Weasley was incredibly different compared to the rest of her family.

For example, her hair wasn't the eye-watering orange, more of a radiant, though mellow auburn. And her face wasn't covered with freckles, but there was a light sprinkle of them along the bridge of her nose. Draco was disturbed to find that he found her quite attractive.

Ginny was staring at the Malfoy boy quizzically. What was he staring at? Just then she heard a creak from above, and saw the large shelf with her luggage on top wobbling.

Ginny's eyes widened as the shelf collapsed, accepting the fact that she'd be crushed at the speed with which the shelf was coming down, but it never reached her.

She vaguely felt a strong hand grasp her arm, and yank her away. Ginny shrieked as she toppled into her saviour, and was surprised to find that it was Malfoy. _Of course, who else would it be, stupid? The door's locked, there's no one else in here,_ Ginny thought to herself.

Ginny quickly moved away and, upon seeing the colossal mess the shelf had made, she grimaced. She then looked at Draco and saw that he had a sort of troubled look in his eye as he looked at the mess too.

Ginny cleared her throat, and then moved forward to collect her trunk. Luckily, she'd had her Firebolt out of the way, so that didn't get crushed.

Ginny grabbed the handle of her trunk and pulled as hard as she could. The trunk wouldn't budge, and Ginny thought she heard sniggering behind her. _Come on_, Ginny thought. _Where are your muscles? You live with six older brothers, for crying out loud._

Ginny tugged again, and her trunk came out easily. She gave a satisfied smirk at the surprised expression that graced Draco's face, waved her wand and cleared up the mess and sat down again, reopening her book.

Ginny glanced up at Draco a second later and saw him glaring at her. "Damn you, Weasley." he grumbled, removing the locking charm and trudging out of the compartment.

Ginny laughed, but suddenly remembered something. Leaving her book perched somewhat precariously, Ginny sprinted after Draco, intending on giving him a proper thank you considering he practically saved her life, but instead ran into a very red, pug-faced Pansy Parkinson.

"Watch it, Weasel! But while I'm here, can I just ask; is that your idea of a proper outfit, or are you so poor you decided to wear your curtains?"

The pathetic Sytherins walking about in the corridor sniggered like this was the funniest thing they'd ever heard, _obviously_ not recognising a good joke.

Ginny looked down at what she was wearing; a thin, light-blue jumper that hugged her curves well, tight skinny jeans that accentuated her long, defined legs and her ever-favourite black all-star Converse. Once again, Ginny never was a girly-girl.

Ginny then looked at Pansy's tight, hot-pink tube top, with a matching skirt that went up to mid-thigh, and high, black stilettos that made Pansy look as though she was about to topple over.

"Maybe if your head wasn't so fat, I wouldn't have had as much trouble avoiding it," Ginny retorted skilfully. "And was that your idea of a good comeback, because it was about as great as your face, puggy."

Ginny then stalked off to find Draco, and it didn't take her long because he was standing right behind Pansy, trying his hardest not to burst out laughing. Pansy turned around, face twisted in annoyance and horror, and her face seemed to have done it because Draco let out a load laugh, and soon he was laughing so hard his face looked like it hurt and he had little tears in his eyes. Ginny couldn't help but let a little smile creep on to her face, and she too was laughing. Pansy then burst out crying, and frolicked off to her compartment.

Once the two finally calmed down a bit, Draco said, "Ah, thanks for that, Weasley. Parkinson should be off my tail for a while."

Ginny smiled, and Draco smiled in return. Much to her annoyance, Ginny felt a faint, though apparent flutter in her chest. Dismissing the feeling as the fact that she hadn't eaten, Ginny replied, "No worries, Malfoy. And I just wanted to, er, thank you.. For, back there. You know," Ginny cleared her throat. "When the shelf. Fell." Something flashed in Draco's eyes, but just as quickly as it had arrived it was gone, and Draco was smiling again.

"Anytime. Though, " Draco added with a smirk, "I don't want you deliberately running in to trouble, just so your Knight in Shining Green Armour will save you."

Ginny laughed out load for the last part, turned around and sauntered off, deliberately swaying her hips and being positively clueless of what that did to Draco, he admitted grudgingly.

A/N: So how was it? My first ever Drinny fanfic, woah. Right, well, anywhoo, I'd better proceed to bribing you all in to reviewing my story; Draco Malfoys sold here! Get your fresh Draco Malfoys! Only one review each! ;)

-Naomi


	2. Shut up, Ronald!

**Disclaimer: -puts hands up- Ok, ok, I surrender! I do not own anything to do with Harry Potter! The great, the lovely, -drum roll- J.K Rowling doesss! I do, however, own the plot of this story.**

_**A/N: I can't believe how much of a prat I am! Merlin, over two months I haven't written! Well, seeing as I got a review, I figured I'd post another chapter. Phew, this will be hard. I always get terrible writer's block. Anywhoo, without further ado, please enjoy!**_

**Taking A Chance- Chap 2. Shut up, Ronald! **

Draco was still musing over why he felt so attracted to Ginny in the Great Hall at dinner. _Well, for one thing, she's not as bad as Pug-Face Parkinson, _Draco thought miserably, sending a forlorn glance at the girl in question who was currently latched onto his arm, jabbering away about her pathetic life.

Draco could see Ginny supressing a grin over at the Gryffindor table, and he glared at the fiery-haired girl.

Sighing very vocally, Draco pushed Pansy off of him, ignoring the confused and hurt look she gave him, and walked out of the Great Hall. He headed for the Slytherin common room in the dungeons, and once he was there, trudged up the boy's dormitory stairs, falling into bed without even changing into his pyjamas. He was asleep before his head hit the pillow.

Ginny woke up with a cold draft down her neck, and a big shiver rattled down her spine.

Teeth chattering and mumbling about how 'Britain is so bloody cold', Ginny got out of bed and walked over to the open window, slamming it shut quickly before she died of hyperthermia.

_What in Merlin's saggy pants is Stephanie playing at,_ Ginny thought angrily to herself. Stephanie was Ginny's enemy here at Hogwarts, and she was probably worse than every Slytherin, and that's saying something.

Admittedly, she wasn't that bad. Ginny just hated her because Stephanie did every little thing she could to irritate Ginny, like opening the window on an especially freezing morning.

Still grumbling about her infinitely frustrating roommate, Ginny got dressed for the day and walked down to the common room, pausing as she saw a depressed-looking Neville Longbottom sitting in front of the fireplace, a faraway look in his eye.

"Nev," Ginny said, her face twisting into confusion and concern. Neville didn't even flinch. "Neville," Ginny tried again, striding across the room and nudging his shoulder.

This time his eyes flicked to Ginny's, and he let out a long sigh. "Ginny, is it bad that Pansy Parkinson managed humiliate me in front of the entire school?"

"I don't understand. How did she do that?"

Neville held up his arm, which Ginny only just noticed now was bandaged, and said, "While I was walking out of the Great Hall after dinner, she stuck her foot out and tripped me. I guess she was acting all prissy because Malfoy wasn't interested in her."

Ginny stared sympathetically at her friend, and placed her hand on Neville's. "Neville, it's ok. Just ignore the sadistic cow! Yeah?"

Neville smiled faintly. "Yeah."

Ginny was glad to see Neville cheering up a bit. "Want to go down for breakfast with me?"

Neville turned back to the fireplace and went back to staring at the hot, yellow flames flickering around the crimson bricks. "No thanks, Gin. You go without me."

Ginny nodded, but then remembered Neville was too immersed in the fire to see her, so she said a quick 'bye' and hurried out of the common room. _What was all that about_, Ginny muttered to herself.

Ginny was soon at the Great Hall and was about to sit at the Gryffindor table when she saw Stephanie leering at her. Giving Stephanie her best glare, Ginny went and sat with Luna Lovegood at the Ravenclaw table.

"Morning, Loon- Luna." Ginny said, quickly covering up her embarrassing name slip-up.

Luna didn't seem to have noticed, because she was reading The Quibbler, a strange magazine, and humming an eccentric-sounding tune to herself.

Ginny waved a hand in front of Luna's face, which seemed to have snapped her out of it. "Oh, hello, Ginny!" Luna exclaimed in a dreamy voice. Ginny smiled warily, and went to eating her breakfast.

Ginny stared around the Great Hall and saw The Trio walk in, looking secretive. Ginny looked somewhere else, and her eyes fell on stormy grey ones over at the Slytherin table.

Draco Malfoy seemed to be.. mocking her? Ginny was fuming at the smirk on his face that he knew how much the Dream Team infuriated her, but kept her cool. Hell would freeze over when she would let Draco Malfoy get to her.

Ginny gave Draco one last scowl and started picking at her porridge, not much in the mood for eating anymore.

Ginny looked up when she saw Harry coming towards her, followed by Ron and Hermione. She huffed irritably and put her spoon down, waiting for whatever it was they were going to say.

"Ginny," Harry started, but Ginny cut him off.

'No, I'm not listening to what you have to say, Harry Potter. I don't answer to you," Ginny's voice was steadily rising, and she got up from her seat. "In fact, I don't answer to anyone! Go tell Mum how much of an irritable bitch I'm being, Ron, see if I care!" And with that, Ginny stormed out of the Great Hall, slinging her bag angrily over her shoulder.

Draco was sitting in Divination, contemplating over what happened in the Great Hall that morning.

_Bloody Hell_, he thought. _And I thought my family was bad._

Draco snapped out of his musings as Professor Trelawney popped up right in front of his face, startling him with her unnaturally magnified eyes, making him fall out of his chair.

"Merlin!" Draco cried, scrambling up off the floor and staring at his batty teacher with and incredulous look on his face.

"Dear?" Professor Trelawney asked, as though she hadn't just caused a student a heart attack.

"What was that for?" Draco shouted, straightening out his robes.

"Dear boy, I startled you out of your thoughts. It's not healthy too look too deep."

Draco continued to stare at her like she'd turned into a Basilisk, but then picked up his bag and strolled out of the room muttering about "batty crazies."

The rest of the day went by quite uneventfully for Draco, and after shaking Pansy off of him numerous times, Draco arrived at the Great Hall for some much needed dinner.

Draco squeezed himself in between Crabbe and Goyle, so to avoid another "intimate moment" with Pansy, as she called them, and grabbed some chips.

Soon the House tables were full with students and the Great Hall became noisy, but not noisy enough to hear the incredibly loud, irritated, "_SHUT UP, RONALD!_"

Every head, including Draco's, turned to the Gryffindor table in time to see a distressed and angry-looking Ginny Weasley running out of the Great Hall. Once Ginny was out of the room, everyone looked at Ron who's face was red, whether from anger or embarrassment, no one could tell.

He lowered his head and continued to eat awkwardly.

Draco frowned. _What's going on with the Weasley clan?_

Getting up off his seat, Draco left the Great Hall in search of a certain red-headed Weasley, which wasn't too hard because her sobs could be heard a mile off.

Draco saw her slumped against a wall not far from the Entrance Hall, face in hands and shoulders shaking.

Something panged inside Draco's chest, but he shrugged it off as lack of food. He didn't get to finish his dinner, after all.

Taking a slow step forward, Draco said, "Red?"

Ginny looked up and, upon seeing who it was, quickly got up from the floor, hastily wiping the tears away from her red and blotchy face.

"M-Malfoy." Ginny replied evenly, straightening herself out.

"What happened?" Draco asked, with a slight trace of amusement. Though there was also concern, and that fact alone confused Ginny far beyond pretty much anything.

"And you care, why?" Ginny grumbled.

Draco frowned. _Why_ do_ I care?_

"I don't know. You just seemed sad."

Ginny snorted and replied sarcastically, "Sad? No, you've got it _all_ wrong. I'm perfectly ecstatic."

Draco smiled, in spite of himself, and knew then and there, for some reason, that they were alright.

"Now, would you care to join me and tell me about how much of a git your brother is?" Draco asked, holding out his arm in a gentlemanly manner.

Ginny eyed his arm warily as though it were about to sprout Voldemort's head, but then shrugged and smiled, taking his arm. "Why not," the two set off down the corridor, not quite knowing where they were heading. "Right, so I was minding my own business, eating dinner.."

A/N: So what did you guys think! :D Please review, and don't forget to tell me my flaws. Heaven knows I've got plenty of them. And feel free to ask questions! Hopefully I can get the third chapter up soon enough. It's Thursday now, so hopefully by the end of Friday.

-Naomi (:


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